Wednesday, 13 November 2013

A Pakistani living legally in the United States has been charged with attempting to join an al- Qaeda in Syria

A Pakistani living legally in the United
States has been charged with attempting to join an al- Qaeda in Syria
after falling for an FBI sting, the Justice Department said,

Basit
Javed Sheikh, 29, contacted an undercover FBI agent, believing him to
be a member of Jabhat al-Nusra, which the State Department identifies as
a terrorist organisation.According to the US attorney's office
in North Carolina, where Sheikh was charged last week, he expressed his
wish to go to Syria "to help the mujahideen...in any way I can."

Asked how he planned to help, Sheikh responded "logistics, media, fight too, God willing," according to the statement.

According
to a 25-page affidavit from FBI agent Jason Maslow, Sheikh told him in
an online voice call that he was ready to "be a martyr" for the
struggle.

The agent also described how, starting in April 2013,
the Pakistani posted several times on Facebook in support of Jabhat
al-Nusra..